


Found

by setrevuo



Series: 28-day ficlet writing challenge [24]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Brothers, Gen, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Platonic Relationships, Wonho POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:08:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23862058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/setrevuo/pseuds/setrevuo
Summary: They're not much, but they're his family.
Relationships: Lee Hoseok | Wonho & Lee Jooheon
Series: 28-day ficlet writing challenge [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1686037
Kudos: 4





	Found

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt - FAMILY: write about the group you were born into.

It's been exactly 23 years, 6 months, and 14 days since the world has gotten quiet.

The postal service was the first to go. That was followed by the internet and phone lines, and then the cascading effect of the economic and political collapse stripped away every form of human contact beyond the physical. It’s funny how easily it all ended, Wonho thinks. Turning off some switches owned by the powerful few brought all of society to a grinding halt. 

Wonho counts down the days starting when the radio signals finally jammed. It was the final frontier of hope for the few surviving. He wasn’t very old, then. But he remembers the stories. And if he thinks carefully, he hears static accompanied with his mother’s voice, crystal clear when the last words did make it through, direct in command but resonating purpose.

_“Stay with each other.”_

Wonho only had his brother, back then. They were small, and they were brave. 

Well, brave for each other, anyway.

In reality, Wonho and Shownu were scared to death when they stepped out into the bizarre new landscape. But they learned quickly on the streets. Monsters who took the shape of selfish, heartless humans roamed the city, searching for prey to loot from, or for entertainment, a ravenous desire to feel something, anything. The two brothers ran at first, far away from the metropolis as their little feet could take them. But they grew, and with them grew the skills needed for survival.

They picked up a team of misfits along the way. Wonho wasn’t ready to open himself to these strangers, not at first. But then Shownu found one of them hiding inside an abandoned underground tunnel, a softly mumbling, cheeky little boy with delicate skin that hadn’t ever seen the sun, and the lock around Wonho’s heart melted away in an instant. They took him in, and Wonho’s family started to grow.

But people come and go, by force or by choice, because fate never is in their hands.

Their latest addition to the team is a pair, two souls with a shared identity of light and positivity and kindness that has all but gone extinct in this world of shadows.

“What if I never see him again?” 

Jooheon, sweet, innocent Jooheon, doesn’t feel a need to filter out the fear when he speaks. He strengthens his grip on the building rooftop’s edge, turning his knuckles white, and it’s not from the pain shooting up from his bandaged leg. Wonho has an arm around his waist for support. It allows Jooheon to stay standing as they stake their surroundings for movement.

“Shownu won’t let that happen. They’ll be back.”

Five days, Shownu had told Wonho before departing. If Shownu couldn’t find the missing boy in that time, then he would return. The boy had gone out for medical supplies a few miles down the road, and it wasn’t a new undertaking for him. Nor was it unfamiliar territory for any of them. But that was four days ago. 

"Even until the very end, he had to be the one to take care of me."

Wonho hears Jooheon’s emotions raw in his voice. He looks over to see a fresh set of tears spill out of brimming pools, falling freely down splotched, red cheeks. He clutches Jooheon's shaking hand, giving it a squeeze.

"It hasn’t ended yet. And he enjoys taking care of you."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do. Because I was in love once, too. And it feels good to be needed."

Wonho has faith in Shownu. He always does. It’s the rest of humanity he doesn’t trust. He’s long since given up on gods, but if he still had one real, honest prayer left, he’d pray for Jooheon. Broken bones can be eventually mended, but a broken heart takes a lifetime to heal. 

Wonho still cries every now and again but claims that those are only temporary lapses. Those aren’t lapses. Those are just cracks into the facade of who he’s become. He tries his best to hide himself using the memories of when he was happy. But it’s hard, and years later he’s realized it’s never going to get any easier. 

So he looks out, staring with an intensity matching Jooheon’s love, and prays for a miracle.


End file.
